PORT DICKSON: Three men, all makeup artists, were arrested when the police rescued a six-year-old orphan boy believed to be a victim of abuse last week.
The suspects, aged between 32 and 36, were arrested at three separate locations in Taman Desa Rusa, Port Dickson and Taman Dataran Segar Lukut at about 3am last Tuesday.
The arrest led police to a house where the boy was found inside one of the rooms.
District police chief Superintendent Maslan Udin said the case came to light following a report lodged by a 67-year-old woman at 1.27am on the same day the arrests were made.
"The woman, in her report, claimed that the boy was crying and had visible injuries at a house in Batu 4
"Initial investigations showed that the boy became an orphan after his father passed away and was abandoned by his biological mother when he was little.
"The boy had been under the care of the complainant in Klang, Selangor before he was handed over to his adoptive father in 2021," Maslan said in a statement today.
The complainant sensed something was amiss when she stopped receiving phone and video calls from the boy.
"She then sent her son to visit the adoptive father's house, where he found the boy injured, crying, and lying naked on the floor," he said.
Maslan said checks showed all suspects had previous records of criminal- and drug-related offences. He also said one of them tested positive for methamphetamine.
Preliminary police questioning showed that the boy was assaulted because he was deemed stubborn and that he frequently urinated around the house.
Maslan said the case is being investigated under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001 for ill-treatment, neglect, abandonment or exposure of children.